National Ski Council Federation Newsbeat
January 2015
Marker Völkl Snaps Up Dalbello. Marker Völkl has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire the Dalbello Group, a family-owned Italian company that has been making ski boots since 1974. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015 subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals. More. SAM
JetBlue to Launch Nonstop Service From East to Reno-Tahoe. JetBlue Airways has announced it will be the only airline to offer nonstop service between Nevada’s Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) and the U.S. East Coast as it launches service from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) May 28, 2015. More. SnoCountry
Uber car service expands to Breckenridge, Vail, Aspen. The wildly popular driver service recently announced that its smartphone app is ready to launch in Colorado mountain towns. The new high-country service includes Summit County, Eagle County (home to Vail and Beaver Creek), and Pitkin County (Aspen and Carbondale). More. Summit Daily via Destimetrics
Land Swap for Mammoth Mountain Signed Into Law. President Barack Obama has approved a land swap that would give Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA) approximately 21 acres of Forest Service land in the area of the California resort’s Main Lodge.
The exchange, for more than 1,500 acres of public and private land located in several counties, was attached to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that passed the U.S. Senate last month. Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory said that the land swap will enable the leveling and rebuilding of Mammoth Mountain Inn and surrounding base area facilities first built in 1958. More. First Tracks!! Ed. Note: Those who attended the NSCF 2011 Annual Meeting in Mammoth heard Rusty Gregory talk about the plans to replace the lodge and improve the base area pending the land exchange.
Younger Skiers and Snowboarders Want More Than Just Mountain Time. Younger adult skiers and snowboarders want their friends by their side, a good deal in their pockets, and plenty of off-mountain entertainment. These are among the findings of a recent study of today’s ski and snowboard traveler conducted by Wyndham Vacation Rentals, the world’s largest professional manager of vacation rentals and part of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands (WYN). More. Marketwired/Yahoo Finance via Destimetrics Ed. Note: The article contains some valuable insights on younger (18-34) ski travelers that could be helpful for councils/clubs seeking to attract younger members on trips.
Sierra Nevada Brews Special Beer for World Ski Championships at Vail/Beaver Creek. The 2015 World Championships Organizing Committee and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., official beer partner for Vail and Beaver Creek’s World Ski Championships, have officially unveiled Start House Session Ale – a beer brewed exclusively for 2015 World Championships ski racing fans.
An easy-drinking India Pale Ale, Start House Session Ale is light in body but big in whole-cone hop flavor with intense notes of pine, grapefruit, and herbal hop aromas, the brewer says. More.
Aspen Skiing Company to Build a New Limelight Hotel at Sun Valley. Aspen Skiing Company (ASC) has closed on a property in Ketchum, Idaho, purchased from Bald Mountain LLC to be developed as a new Limelight Hotel, modeled after the company’s existing property in Aspen, Colo. The property is in close proximity to Sun Valley Resort’s River Run base of Bald Mountain ski area at the southern end of Main Street in Ketchum. The property features large guest rooms, an expansive and open lounge, expanded continental breakfast, a lobby restaurant and adventure programming for guests. More. First Tracks!!
Granite Peak (WI) Unveils $50 Million Expansion Plan. Granite Peak owner Charles Skinner has unveiled an estimated $50 million plan to add more lifts, ski runs, slopeside lodging and summer activities to his Wisconsin ski and snowboard resort. Skinner indicated that Granite Peak needs the additional amenities to compete with Vail Resorts, which has recently added suburban ski areas in Detroit and Minnesota to its stable of ski areas united under the company’s Epic Pass, as well as to accommodate the next generation of skiers. More. First Tracks!!
New Gondola to Anchor Lutsen Mountains (MN) Expansion. Lutsen Mountains owner Charles Skinner unveiled a $30 million expansion plan last week that includes a replacement of the resort’s iconic gondola lift. The gondola would be replaced by a new eight-passenger, $7 million model to be built by Doppelmayr. Skinner’s announcement comes on the heels of his release of a $50 million expansion blueprint for Granite Peak in Wisconsin, which he also owns. More. First Tracks!!
Can skiers own and operate their home hill? Locals claim that when Les Otten, former CEO of the now-defunct American Skiing Company, offered to buy Mad River Glen from Betsy Pratt for $5 million, she puffed her corncob pipe and told him where he could stick his check. Pratt was tired of owning Mad River, but she loved the place dearly and would only sell it to those who cared as much as she did: the skiers. So in 1995, Pratt set up a cooperative and sold 2,000 shares, making Mad River Glen the only skiing co-op in North America. More. Mountain Magazine
Where Is The New England Ski Museum? The New England Ski Museum is located in the heart of the White Mountain National Forest, appropriately nestled in a snow-covered mountain. The free museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to the history of skiing and resides in the same park as the (now gone) iconic Old Man of the Mountain. Step inside the museum and you’ll experience the permanent exhibit “From the First Tracks to the Fall Line: Eight thousand years of skiing,” which is a chronology of the development of skiing from its prehistoric roots through the 1990s. More. Boston.com via Google Alerts
10th Mountain Division leader, ski icon Earl Clark dies. Earl Ervin Clark, a World War II veteran who was instrumental in forming the 10th Mountain Division National Association and a member of the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame, Dec. 28 at his home in Littleton, CO. He was 95.
In 1971, Clark was among the founding members and first president of the 10th Mountain Division National Association, which grew to have more than 5,000 members. He also played a role in forming the International Federation of Mountain Soldiers, a group that includes German, Austrian, Italian and French mountain ski soldiers. More. The Denver Post via Google Alerts
States Stepping Up to Ski and Snowboard Month. This month marks the seventh year of Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month, and several states, including Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah and Vermont, are promoting statewide discounted beginner lesson packages. A few associations have recruited partners to help spread the news.
While most learn-to initiatives are left to resorts themselves to develop, in December, LSSM organizers launched the new First Day Faces campaign. This asks new skiers and riders to share photos of their first time lessons via social media for a chance to win a trip to Utah. Photos are tagged with the hashtag #FirstDayFaces. More. SAM
